When and Why Did You Decide A Career in Nursing Was for You?

I was actually a patient getting some tests done on my kidneys (turned out to be nothing). I was so impressed with the nurses and how they ran the show. I was about 22 then. The seed was planted, but it was another 10 years or so before I made it a reality.

I finally figured out that i wanted to go into nursing, right before i graduated high school. I always liked the medical field, and love people, and my mom suggested it to me, and Ive just alwasy had this want to help people and be there for them. And even though I have really bad days, I can say I love it. Plus I always have a good story when someone says "So what did you do today?"

I spent a week in hospital as a patient in my last year of high school. I just thought the nurses were great, so well organised, so professional. That was 25 years ago, and I don't believe I could have made a better choice.

Joanne :)

:)

I finally figured out that i wanted to go into nursing, right before i graduated high school. I always liked the medical field, and love people, and my mom suggested it to me, and Ive just alwasy had this want to help people and be there for them. And even though I have really bad days, I can say I love it. Plus I always have a good story when someone says "So what did you do today?"

I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. I had my scholarship, and by the beginning of my Senior year, even had the college selected. There was an overabundance of teachers at that time. I didn't want to go to college for four years and have no job. All my friends were going into nursing, so I did too. Good reason, huh? But....I've been in nursing for 28 years now and still ticking....... God works in funny ways.

I've wanted to be a nurse since I was 5 years old. I had to have a minor procedure and I remember the nurse giving me a grape soda after it was over.(my favorite when I was little) :chuckle

Well, to start off....my mom is a nurse and so is my brother! :) But the real reason why I became a nurse was because of my son. My husband was in the military at the time, we were stationed in Texas, and I was over a 1000 miles away from my mom! My son became sick, with a very high fever and I was scared to death.

My hubby and I rushed him to the ER. They put him through a variety of tests, including a lumbar puncture, and then finally admitted him. I was so stressed and so scared and no one really seemed to care. Medical jargon was being flung around and I understood NONE OF IT!!!!! I was calling my mom, trying to relay everything. My son's nurse came in the room and sat next to me. HE took my hand and started explaining things, in layman's terms and I could feel my pulse slow, and my stress decrease. This male nurse took time with me, more than any other nurse or doctor that day. He made me feel comfortable and safe. I trusted his opinions and advice. I called home and told my mom everything. My son ended up diagnosed with bacteremia and went home a few days later, but the impact that male nurse had on me has lasted a lifetime. He played a big role in my decision to become a nurse and I have modeled my style of nursing after his. So, you male nurses out there, this one's for you....... Thanks!

Tracey

Hi. I have wanted to become a nurse for about 5-6 years now but with starting a family and working full time it just was not in the cards. Then this past April my Brother-in-Law died suddenly of unknown causes. He was only 27. I suddenly realized how short life really is and it was like a calling that I needed to do this. I am starting nursing school this fall. Can't wait

I wanted to be a nurse when I was a young child...then I went on to wanting to be other things. When I finally went to college, I got a psychology degree (got me nowhere) and ended up working as an administrative assistant for an airline. Then after a few other clerical jobs (which I hated) I lost a job I actually liked (technical writing) when the company shut down. I was out of work for a bit over a year. Got a crappy job working in my cousin's restaurant equipment store & kept thinking about what I wanted to do when I grew up (mind you, I'm in my 30's!). My husband was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma November 2002 & was scheduled for surgery March 2003. In Feb 2003, I had to drive him to the ER in the middle of the night due to a kidney stone. We were there for 6-1/2 hours while they did tests, etc. I felt in my element there at the hospital. I was calm & controlled and it just felt right. Then he had his surgery a few weeks later & I felt the same way. I stayed with him for the 4 days he was in the hospital and observed the nurses. I could do that. So I applied to our local community college that month & started my pre-req's that next month. :)

My grandfather was a railroad foreman in Spain in the early 1900s. My grandmother used to go to work with him everyday to care for the men who got injured building the railroad. She stitched cuts, set bones, plucked small pieces of rock from eyes, tended sunburns, fevers, etc. She taught what she knew to my mother and I. I always thought it was such a noble profession. Then my father became ill with rheumatoid arthritis and a plethora of other ailments through the years and I saw the value of a good nurse. At one point, my father got a bad infection in his wrist joint and had to be on IV ABT at home. We had a nurse come in every few days to change the hep lock, but we (my mom and I) had to hook up the ABT for him BID. I was so eager to learn, that the visiting nurse said "You should become a nurse!" and so I did. :)

When I had my c-section, an artery got cut and the doc didn't suture it. I bled out and had to have massive blood & plasma. The nurses in ICU were so great, I had felt so alone and scared (only 23) and this one nurse in particular gave me a cup of ice and a little conversation. I thought she was Mother Theresa. After an opportunity came for me to go back to school, I snatched it.

As a single mom working as a CNA, I admired an LPN who seemed to be so good and comfortable in her position. Plus, I knew I couldn't raise 2 boys on a CNA wage. I'd say my decision was based on part necessity/ part romance of the position.